England’s World Cup games were shown live, with 2.3m viewers tuning into see the semi-final against New Zealand
was a great vehicle to introduce the game to the masses. “We had large numbers of people attending the World Cup games who’d never been to a rugby league game before,” he said. “I believe around 60 per cent of tickets were bought by people who hadn’t purchased a ticket from the RFL before. “In terms of the wider opportunities,
there are obviously participating opportunities threaded within having increased the profile of the game – and the inspiration of watching a game. “Let’s also not forget the commercial
side of things; encouraging commercial partners to the game through an international tournament and then hopefully being able to build on those relationships – whether that’s within the professional sport or indeed with grassroots sport – in terms of their engagement and competition.”
GET THEM PLAYING According to Sport England’s Active People Survey (ASP), there were 51,100 people playing rugby league at least once a week during the year to October 2012. The figure made it the 24th most popular sport played in England – someway behind rugby union, which was 13th on the list with 183,000 regular players. A quick study of the ASP figures reveals there was a decline in rugby league participation since ASP 2 (October 2008), when 82,000 people were playing the sport on a regular basis. The decline, however, has been
stemmed over the past 18 months, partly thanks to a comprehensive consultation process which the RFL
Issue 4 2013 © cybertrek 2013
IT’S CRITICAL FOR US TO MAINTAIN CLUBS IN THE MORE NON-TRADITIONAL AREAS IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND
conducted with its stakeholders – led by interim chair Maurice Watkins. The findings of the Watkins Review of Rugby League Governance were published in July 2012 and among the report’s recommendations was a call for further investigation to be made into the appropriate level of RFL support for clubs, youth development and player production systems. Currently, all RFL’s grassroots projects
designed to increase participation are divided into seven different programme areas – touch and tag rugby; community clubs; competitions and leagues; primary rugby league (all rugby taking place under the age of 11); secondary schools; colleges; and universities. Within each
programme area there are individual products, services and intervention initiatives to increase participation. One of the recent campaigns, launched
during the World Cup to maximise its reach, is the Play Touch Rugby League initiative, which sits within the “touch and tag” group of RFL programmes. Designed for people over the age of 14, the format is based on a minimal contact version of the sport and is marketed as a fast, skilful, action-packed activity played in a fun and social atmosphere. According to Gent, the idea is to make it attractive to those who have never played the sport of rugby before – and to attract new operators wanting to add rugby to their range of activities.
Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84